a darkly beautiful "Million Dollar Baby"

hmm would this be the movie with Marlo Thomas?

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It's 'MILLION Dollar Baby.'

Otherwise people will think you're talking about an Alice Cooper record.

Well, no one around here will think that but you know what I mean.

Whoops, I shouldn't type so fast. "Billion..." at least suggests quality. Which this film has.

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Updated On: 12/16/04 at 09:39 PM

I have to say, I was completely turned off by the trailer which looked trite at best. There must be a huge surprise in the film to capture this much attention.

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Well... for what it's worth, Roger Ebert sure does agree with you Auggie.

"Clint Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby" is a masterpiece, pure and simple, deep and true. It tells the story of an aging fight trainer and a hillbilly girl who thinks she can be a boxer. It is narrated by a former boxer who is the trainer's best friend. But it's not a boxing movie. It is a movie about a boxer. What else it is, all it is, how deep it goes, what emotional power it contains, I cannot suggest in this review, because I will not spoil the experience of following this story into the deepest secrets of life and death. This is the best film of the year."

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041214/REVIEWS/41201004

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Roger Ebert has been pulling four-star ratings out of his ass. He gave Vanity Fair four stars. I'll see Million Dollar Baby, but I really don't think Clint Eastwood's appeal in this film will extend much to the Broadway crowd.

Do you mean that a trailer's been released that makes it necessary to then go see the movie, because you don't know how the story ends? How odd!

Thanks for posting the validating reviews. I get nervous when words like 'masterpiece' are thrown around, especially for such an unpretentious movie. But why not give Clint his due. He's turning out work like MYSTIC RIVER and now this in his mid-70s. The story here is so simple -- it could be done as a movie of the week. It could be so ROCKY/MORRIE-esque, designed to promote uplift. Yet it doesn't try to push for that easy a feel-good fix. Its brilliance is in its tone, and its attention to character. It harkens back to another era of movie-making, when story and craft were more critical that womp and fast cutting.

You must commit to the pace of this film. Its first 30 minutes demand that you listen closely, and not grown impatient with seemingly random digressions (the brief scenes with the short-fuse priest, for example). But Eastwood knows how to build on the smallest of details, how to define people by the mundane ways they behave. (Watch for how heartbreakingly he uses a saved piece of steak from a plate.) Oddly enough, the movie has a kind of economy -- all details pay off, nothing is squandered.

And Dame -- you were the first person at this board to alert us to this film's magic, when you highlighted Swank's seemingly out of the blue chances for big awards. You were right. Thank you. This is a 'comeback'for an actress who shouldn't leave. She gives unstintingly in this film, in different ways than BOYS, but with an incandescence that is uniquely her own. Thank God she is ignoring conventional wisdom, and having her career her way (despite THE CORE!. We don't need another action hero or Bond girl, and Swank shouldn't waste her time (as was advised in the NY Times piece by a shallow casting agent) trying to find a 'mainstream' 'sexy' role. Her Maggie is mainstream like Norma Rae, or Erin B, and she deserves to be recognized as the ladies were who played them.

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Updated On: 12/17/04 at 12:54 PM

The 98% rating on Million Dollar Baby can't be ignored. It's a definite Best Picture Oscar contender. And I certainly would not mind Swank winning another Oscar (though Kate Winslet will surely be in tears this time). But Eastwood, again? Dang. I'd rather see Scorsese enjoy big success over Eastwood any day.

If Million Dollar Baby wins the Best Picture Oscar, then it'll be a Godfather victory -- i.e. one with only a couple of other awards to back up it's Best Picture win. I think The Aviator will ultimately trump it with nominations and emerge the frontrunner on that count alone.

I went to see this movie yesterday, knowing NOTHING about it, only that it was nominated for a few Golden Globes, and honestly only went yesterday because I missed CLOSER. But I am SO SO glad I went. It took me a little bit to get into it because I am so bored by boxing, but this movie really really is fantastic. I would LOVE to see Swank win the Oscar, she wholeheartedly deserves it. Like Auggie said, Margo is FANTASTIC. Everyone should go see this movie.

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Only major cities, i believe. Wow, I didn't realize how GAY i look in my avatar until i saw it on here. Yikes!

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I think Hilary Swank has been brilliant in everything she's done so far.

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